A MAN and woman have been ordered to pay more than £650,000 for their part in hiding nearly £2 million worth of cannabis in fish food and money laundering.

Robert Preston, 57, and Michelle Clark, 53, were among a number of people arrested and charged by officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

In February 2014, two vans were stopped on the A13 in West Thurrock by officers who found 196 kilos of skunk cannabis worth nearly £2 million.

The cannabis, which was imported into Harwich from the Netherlands, was hidden among fish food and had been collected from a depot in West Thurrock.

Preston and Lee Samways, 27, then both of Great Stony Park in Ongar, and Stephen Demetriou, 25, then of Wallace Way, Romford, were charged with conspiracy to import Class B drugs. Preston and Demetriou were also charged with money laundering.

They admitted to the charges and were sentence at Basildon Crown Court in May 2015.

Preston and Demetriou were given jail terms of four years and three months and Samways was jailed for 21 months.

Michelle Clark, 53, then of Great Stony Park in Ongar, was charged with money laundering.

She pleaded guilty at Basildon Crown Court and was sentenced in August 2015 to ten months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £900 costs.

Essex Police then applied for confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Preston was ordered to pay £367,608.61 based on his available assets following a hearing at Basildon Crown Court. If he fails to pay, he faces three years in jail.

Clark was ordered to pay £288,814.09 or face two years imprisonment.

Detective Chief Inspector Josie Hayes said: “This was a sophisticated and lucrative drugs enterprise, from which they would have received a substantial profit.

“We will use always look to use legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to try and ensure criminals do not benefit from their offending. “The forfeited money will be used to further enhance Essex Police’s capability to tackle crime and keep the communities of Essex safe.”